White Opening System

Intrduction: Wliite Operiirig Systerri

Stonewall Formation

PILLSBURY vs MAJOR HANHAM New York 1893

13

The advance of one insignificant pawn would not seem to have much impact on the overall strategies of White and Black. But it does. From White's point of view he knows that he no longer has to advance his e-pawn in order to attack. There are plenty of mating possibilities available without chanping the center further. Al1 he need do to abet this attack is to play-Nr3 followed by bringing a heavy piece to h3, e.g._Rflf3-h3 or Qdl-M-h3.,Then- he has his forces lined up against ~ c T 1 i ; - i S ~ a h i ' c ~ l avulnerable rly after Black has castled. He can remove the-only defendq of h7 (when Black has played ...o-Q b f w 6 -of NeS-g4 or g2-g4-gS.C----

i -

And since he will not be pushing his e-pawn without a good reason, White can maintain the security of his d4 - unlike what Colle did in his game with Capablanca. A good exarnple of this was:

White's attack proceeds naturally. Black had one exellent -opportunity to block the "rnating'di~@ii3" wThk . ; . ~ e 4.Now . that -he.missed th5i bhance. Black is in bajor ' trouble since the elirnination of themost ad;&ced White piece - 10 Nxe5 - only gives White more room to attack after 11 fxeS!. C_

...

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White Opening System

Chapter Two: 'I'lie Storie~rill

35

CHAPTER TWO The Stonewall (Introduction) We turn our attention now to more traditional methods of countering White's first two moves. In the early days of 1 d4, back in the 19th Century. Black often played super-cautiously in the opening. You can still find many amateurs today playing this symmetrical way: h

The-choice.. of. a Stonewall or a Colle is up p ,y-04. )& Black Bishop-?$h - . - .b l g c-~ - sh- i s ~ u E n

' we likrihe Stonew-al!-if /Q; , , ...e . .

----.

-.

W

-----.

-

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But in chess it's the easiest way of getting a lost game. By duplicating his opponent's moves, Black usually places himself in the position of playing catch-up. If White can create a forcing position -- a position in which Black cannot imitate White's last move because he must respond to a specific threat - then the symrnetry is broken, often with tragic results. Notice, by the way, that Black can temporize with a "waiting move" such as 2...c6. This strengthens Black's center, just as 2...e6 does, but it";roFnot -____ _ block in his QueekBishoa. as ,2..,ea_do?.But th_erejs.another problembwith.2?..c6. Black often needs counterplay in the center to combat the Siònewall. I

!

This means that after 2...c6 3 Bd3 White is in an position _to convert to t h e S t o e W 5 l E t h 4 f4!. Tt'S tiie bèst of i Stonewall worlds: (QBlack ha3 cbmmitted hisTiZGwTt6 thefiiirth rarik, anT{b)-it Will iake hirn two nioves toxe't his cpawn to the fourth-rank.

l

...

Black-can- also. play 2...Nf6 or-2 c5 a& transpose. into oui. nextchapter. Note. howevér, that moves such as 2...Nd7 o< -. -.2...&6?. encourage White to stop 3...e5 w i t h ~ g ! , thè= ohtairiiì~ga particularly favorable version of the Stonewall. --.-. . - .. One unique situation that can arise comes about after 2...Nf6 3 Bd3, Nc6 and now 4 f4 (to stop 4..e5), Nb4!. This is ariclther move order that was once thought to be the definitive unswer to White's 2 e3. After 4...Nb4 White cannot afford to setveat the Bishop from d3, because then S...Bf5! will be too strong.

White Opening System

36

Chapter Two: Tlie Storie\rall

The proper response then is 4...Nb4 5 Nf3, Nxd3ch 6 cxd3!. White surrenders Bishop for a Knight but gains something valuable in retum: pawn contro1 over the key c4 and e4 squares. The result is a semi-closed position in which Knights may be worth more than Bishops. For an example of what may happen, see Illustrative Game 3.

This important move by White adds additional pawn protection for the center but, equally important, it provides a good retreat square at c 2 for his Bishop. Remember the ColleDelvaux game from the Introduction? Then the move c5-c4 turned out to be a major strategic error by Black.

...

...

For examples of an early Nf6, look to chapter Three. The advantage of 4...N- is that it threatens to play 5...e5!. a move that would b G positional refuìalion G f White'S strategy, e.g. 4...Nc6 5 Nd2, e5!, after which 6 dxe5, NxeS or 6 Ne2, Nf6 leaves Bhckwith an obviously better -- position in the center.

White can, - if he p-fers, - ,.play 5 NM (Colle) as in Chapter F o u i " C

This move creates a double-Stonewall with these features. Black: (a) shortens thF%taiEing diagonal of d3-h7. (b) assiires himself of his own outpost square at e4, while conceding e5 to White, and (C) makes it likely that if any file is going to be opened in the middlegame, it will be the g-file by way of g2-g4 or ...g 7-g5. This last point is worth considering in a different light. Black can play the immediate S...g5!?. In a celebrated game froni before the turn of the' century- (Showalter-Maroczy, London 1899) Black obtained the better chances following 6 fxg5?, Qxg5 7 NM, Qg4! (better than 7...Q.xg2 8 R g l ) 8 Qe2, f5! 9 Nbd2, Nf6 10 Nfl, Rg8 with an initiative.

--.-

A simpler way of handling this for White is&-NO!,._, thereby preserving his pawn at f4. After 6...gxf4 7 exf4, cxd4 8 cxd4, Bg7 9 Nbd2 and 10 Nb3, Black has succeeded in isolating White's d-pawn as a target. but White has the excellent outpost squares on e5 and c5. Note that 9,..Nxd4? 10 Nxd4, Bxd4 11 Qa4ch costs a piece and 9...Bxd4 10 Nxd4, Nxd4 11 0-0 is a risky gambit to accept. And, once more, on 5,..Nf6 Black will transpose itito posi tions considered in thè next chapter.

White Opening System

White's Middlegame Strategy Now Black can continue in various ways. including 7...Bd6, 7...Be7 or 7...Ne4. He will castle Kingside and (hopefully) be ready to challenge White on that wing. A game Showalter-Marco, Cambridge Springs 1904

went:

This means opening*? g-file. One procedure to execute this plan woula be 9 Khl followed by 10 Q e l , 11 R g l and 12-g4&At some poinTyou may have to recapiure cìn e5 afltZr Black takes your Knight. In general, you should retake with the f-pawn. The exception is usually when dxc5 would allow you to occupy the now-vacant d4 with your remaining Knight.

Here White decided to gain unopposed contro1 of his outpost square by way of 9 BbS?!, Qb6 10 Bxcoch, bxc6 11 Ne5. But since he has parted with his good Bishop, Black can afford to give up his own (with ...Be7-d6xe.5) in order to obtain an equa1 game. A better-----strategy- for ----. -White is open the Kingside. Therefore:

-

E r e c t j o u r attention towards the enemy. King. Since Black hasbòught a share oFthe f(ing5de with his fifth move, yoii will not be able to demonstrate a superiority with mere maneuvers, such as Rfl-M-h3. Therefore. you need to change the pawn strutture and open a file for your heavy pieces.

L--.-

t

White Opening System

Illustrative Game (3) YATES-SCHLECHTER Pistyan 1912

('hapter Two: I'lie Stonelvali

41

White nezd not obtain a mating attack to win: A good illustration of how this opening can lead to a won endgame is ~arshall-Suchting7ienna 1908:-Black %ed à t move six with 6...e6 and there followed 7 Nc3, b6 8 0-0, c5 9 Ne5, h5 (to avoid 9...0-0 10 g4) 10 Bd2, Bd7 11 Qf3, Rc8 12 Bel!, Be7 13 Ne2, cxd414 Nxd4, Bc5 15 Be3, b5 16 a3, a6 17 Qg3, KW 18 Racl, Rh6 19 Nb3, Bd6 20 Qg5, Be7 21 Ba5!, Qe8 22 Qg3, Ne8 and now 23 Nxd7ch, Qxd7 24 Rxcgch, Qxc8 25 Hcl, Qa8 26 Nd4, h4 27 Qf2, Nf6 28 QcZ!, Bd6 29 Qc6!, Qxc6 30 Rxc6, he8 31 Rxa6, e5 32 Nf5, Re6 33 Nxd6, Rxd6 34 Rxd6, Nxd6 35 Bb4 Resigns.

-

10 Bd2 11 R c l 12 Ne5 13 Qa4!

v

C5

Ba6 Nd7

.. .

Despite al1 the attention focused on the Kingside in Stonewall positioiis. White has an excellent game on the other wing here. The riext few moves are forced.

...

As mentioned above, Black's fourth and fifth moves were once thought to be the way to defang the Stonewall, by eliminating White's best attacking piece. However, thanks to his sixth move, White can now play the position in a strategic manner, rather than in an all-out dash for the King.

Note his last move. The old rule about not playing Nc3 before c2-c4 in a l d4 opening makes sense when the Knight move blocks the C-pawn's advance. Here White no longer has a C-pawn, so his last move is perfectly normal. The..Knight, in fa&,& heading for e2 and possible use on the K&side (atg3) or in the center a t d 4 ' ( a f t e ~ ~ ~ 5 f d x c -5 ) .

13 14 Qxa6 15 Rc2 16 Rfcl 17 b4!

Nxe5 Nd7 e6 Re8

White Opening System

Cliapter l'wo: 'l'lie Stoiiewall

38 Kf3 39 Kf2 40 Kf3

I I I

This is an overfinesse, rushing towards doubling heavy pieces on the seventh rank (19 Rc7) but apparently overlooking Black's resources. With the simple 18 Nxd4 White would have an excellent garne.

Now 24 Qxa7 allows 24...Ra8! 25 Qxb6, Rxa2 when suddenly it is Black, not White, who has the more dangerous heavy-piece play (and a threat of 26...Q $4 27 N@, Ral ch and mates).

i i

! i

Black fails to firid a fine winning idea: 40...Qhlch 41 Kf2, Qelcli 12 Kf3, Kh8! and he wins a piece because 43 Nxg7 allows 43 Re3ch and mates.

...

:;KPS f?!3

43 44K 3 45 46 Qc8ch 47 Qc4 48 Qxf7 49 Kf2

KPS

28 ~ x a 7 29 Qe4 30 Qd3 31 b5 32 Kf2 33 K g l 34 Qc4! 35 Nd4

Qhlch Qglch Qdlch Qelch Re6 Re8 Kh8 Qc3ch

Draw Notes to move 6 and 18 show how White should have played to go t;)r the win.

A last bid for complications. There was nothing to be had from 35 Bxd4ch 36 Qxd4, Qc5 because the endgame after 37 Qxc5, bxc5 38 Rd7, c4 39 K f l is harmless.

...

36 Nxf5 37 Kf2

Qhlch Qxh2ch QhSch?

d l(Q)ch Qelch

Cliapter Ttiree: Stonewall 11

White Opening System

45

There is no pasticularly better square for his Knight. It was fashioriable around the tum of the century to play moves such as Nbd7 and ...Q c7 early on, but they perform no better than simple development.

...

CHAPTER THREE Stonewall I1

For example, Chajes-Capablanca, New York 1911 went 4...Qc7 5 f4, Bg4 6 Nf3, e6 after which White obtained a nice game by getting out of the Kingside pin with 7 QaQch!. - - ---

4ow let's examine the most common positions that the Stonewall formations. Remember that White need I exactiy in this manner but can back out of the .Il by playing 5 Nf3, reaching one of the true Colle pole'll consider in succeeding chapters.

--,

.

Then 7...Qc6?? is a blunder (8 Bb5) and 7...Nc6 makes 8 Ne5 strong. Best, relatively, is 8...Nbd7 8 Ne5, c4 9 Nxg4, Nxg4 and then 10 Be2, Nh6 11 b3! after which Black cannot maintain his chain of light-square pawns and has nothing to show for having given up a Bishop for a Knight. White was clearly better after I l cxb3 12 axb3, a6 13 0-0 and 14 c4. See Illustrative Game 4.

...

t is sometimes believed that the Stonewall was re,y the Queen's Gambit (2 c4) once masters began to re: strength of the latter. Not entirely true: Frank Mars one of the few topnotch players before World War I irly resort to 1 d4. And yet after nearly ten years of deto the Queen's Gambit, the 31-year-old American )n turned to the Stonewall and won some of his nicest i 1908.

a

This presents a miljor crossroads to Black since he has two reasonable alternatives to our main line of 5...e6. Modem players may feel more comfortable with 5...g6, reaching a position that occurs -- with colors reversed -- in the dutch De- . fense. The $one.wall Dutch had an undeservedly poor reputa- 11 tion for more than hàlf~aEntury but made a comeback in the , late 1980s and early 1990s. --

White should theri continue 6 Nf3, Bg7 7 0-0, 0-0 8 Nbd2 and then continue with the tried-arid true attackirig plan i\ o f Qel-h4 and Ne5. If Black exchanges pawns on d4. White retakes with hiie-pawn: I-Iis - . Queen. Bishop can be developed at . - ..--.- ...I b2 or a3. i? L,?,; ,i /

.-

.

~

e="--

Such positions in the Dutch Defense were once thought to favor Black because he can eliminate the enemy's good Bishop at what was consijered slight cost by way of 8...Bf5!? 9 Bxf5, gxf5. This judgmcnt now appears suspect, since White can then force the opening of the g-file with 10 Khl, 11 Rgl, 12 Ne5 and eventually g2-g4. White should then stand well.

n

i

White Opening System

This move has a specific posj~iinalthreat in mind. After 7...cxd4 White would not be able to $ay ihe desirab~e8 exdil hecause of 8...Bxf4. But after 8 cxd4 Black will have succeeded in opening ari entire file - not just half of one. as would occur after 8 exd4 - for his heavy pieces. And it is Black who most iieeds an open Queenside file. White will have enough play as it is on the Kingside thanks to his e5 outpost.

The other modern approach to the Stonewall is to develop Black's Queen Bishop before locking it in with the epawn. Here, for example, .Black can~lay&.~Bg4-and if, 6 Nf3, then 6...e6. An aalysis by'Ludek.Pachrnan in the 1960s recommended 7 6 i 0 , Bd6 8 Qel, 0-0 9 Ne5, Bf5! as favorable to Black, reasoning that 10 BxfS?, exf5 only strengthetis Black's hold on the center. White can do better with O,Be2, preserving his Bishop and preparing to gain Kingside space wfth. _11 _.--g4. .

.

Tlie sarne idea arises after 6...Qc7, as Jose Capablanca played on occasion. Then 7 Ndf3 would open up White's Queen Bishop's diagonal (thereby allowing 7...c.rd4 8 e.xd4!). However, that Knight move has the drawback of permitting 7...NeJ! and 8...fS, with a safe and solid double-Stonewall position. Better for White.-is .7 Qf3 or 7 Nh3 as in our main cl, lirie. %-.-W-

-3-

--

1 .

In Capa's day it was sometimes thought that 6...Be7 was siiperior to 6...Bd6, because the latter exposes Black to the dangei. of e3-e4-e5. White can then proceed as in our main line or vai! his plans with 7 Ngf3,O-0 8 0-0. e.g. 8...b6 9 Ne5, Bb7 10 Qf3 followed perhaps by g2-g4-g5 or Qh3.

',

Carefully played. By overprotecting e4, White does not allow Blackto establish a double-Stonewall as he Would'after 6' NM, ~ e 4 7! 0-0, f5.

++

T u a a s e c o n d bene5t to avoiding 6 Nn.: A genera1 rule of opening strategy is t g k e G ~ u T _ d e v e l o p m e n i f l ~ i b ~ e . Here White sees that his Queen Knight has no better square than d2, so why not put it there immediately? On the other hand, he does not know yet where his other Knight -- or Queen -- belong. Perhaps he will develop the K&g Knight a a 3 and ceserve f3fgrhis Queen or-other Knight. as F a n k K r s h a l l d i 7 so effectively iri'tournaments before World War I. See the main line below.

Ch3-q2

b d i - ~n e~ 4

This has been regarded as strong ever since Marshall's impressive victory over Akiba Rubinstein at Vienna 1908 (see Illustrative Game 5). Now 7...cxd4 8 exd4 only helps White out. as he will be able to use the half-open-e-file to a greater extent than Black will be able use the half-open C-file.

The natura1 move here is 7...0-0 but that is risky because it creates an immediate target for White's pieces. He can then play either 8 g4 or 8 Nh3. For example, 7...0-0 8 Nh3, b6 9 Ng5 and now 9...h6 10 h4, hxg5? only plays into White's hands I I l hxg.5, N-moves 12 Q115 finito). Better is a develop-

48

Chapter Three: Stonewall I1

White Opening System

...

49

Illustrative Games

ment move such as 10 Bb7, although White's attack cali continue with 11 g4.

(4) CHAJES-CAPABLANCA New York 1911

W hite's Middlegame Strategy From h3 the Knight can go to g5, to take part in the assault oXdh7 -and fl, or to fl, where it watches the kzy e4 squares. White is virtucallj-èertain to castle Kingside. but ~vhere will Black castle? On the Queenside it may be just as vulnerable to a pawn storm as on the Kingside (see Marshall-Rubinstein below).

-

And the other question of pertinence is this: Who will -. castles Kingside, White necd not open lines and how? If Black change the pawn strutture, but cari-continue with norma1 attacking ideas -435 followed by Qh.5). If---- Black remains . in thg.-xnt_er-or castles (iieensid5,.. - . .-. ... White will push his e-pawn: Black's counte@lay,-however, is not at al1 apparent. See Gamk 5 for an illustration of competing strategies. . , - H .

It's important for White to challenge Black's impendin Oueenside e x p ~ s j (from o ~ ...a7-a6 and then ...b7-b5) and als5 to provide a means of 'openinglines. Witliin-Tive-moves it is White - not Black - who has expanded on the Queenside and owns more terrain there. Notice that without his light-squared Bishop, Black cannot easily maintain pawns on squares such as

c4.

Il... 12 axb3 13 0-0 14 c4 15 c5!

cxb3 a6 Bd6 . 0-0

50

White Opening System

White avoids the cornplications of 15 Nc3, b5 ( I 6 cxbS?. Q.rc3) and also prepares a Queenside pawn storin wiih b3-b4-b5. To avoid that. Black must advance his own b-paw~i. thereby creating a game-long wecikness at a6. In short, White is in control.

Chapter Three: Stonewall TI 36 Bh5 37 Ra2 38 Qfl 39 Bel! 40 ~ d l 41 Rg2

Ne7 Rg8 Nc6 Ra8 Qe7

...

White dreams of having time for 23 Rfa8 24 Rla3 followed by 25 Qa2 and 26 BxbS!. But his Rooks are now pushed back and it was tirne for White to realize that he need.; a second enerny weakness in order to win this garne. Therefore. it was tirne to begin looking at preparations for g2-g4.. As thr: garne goes, Black gets the g-pawn idea first.

...

23

24 h3

25 R5a3 26 g3 27 Kh2 28 R g l 29 Qd1 30 Be2

Rfa8 Bd8 g5 Kh8

2k7 Rg8 Qe7

Black has done his best to seal off the Queenside antl direct both players' attention to the g-file.

31 Q a l 32 Rcl 33 gxf4 3 4 Rgl 35 Qxgl

Qb7 gxf4 Raa8 Ng

Inevitably, with only one file open, the remaining heavy pieces will be traded off - since neither player can allow the other uncontested control of the file for very long. That rneans an endgame will be reached in which White has two Bishops versus a Bishop-and-Knight, and also has the advantage of a passed C-pawn. Despite his bad dark-squared Bishop, he has good, perhaps excellent, winning chances.

...

41 42 Bd2!? 43 Qf3 44 Be2 45 Qxg2 46 Bf3 47 Bh5

K22

48 49 K 50 Ke2 51 Bf3 52 K f l 53 Ke2 54 Bh5

White Opening System

I

Chapter Three: Stonewall I1

53

Draw. Neither side can make progress. White's King cannot leave the vicinity of c2, or the a-pawn will Queen. And 69 Kb2, Kd6 70 Kc2, Ke7 (which threatens 71...Kf6 and 72...Kd5) only allows White to advance with 71 d5, Kf6 72 d6!. White should have gotten in g4 first as pointed out at n o v e 23.

White's problem is that his King has no means of penetration, since g3, g4 and h5 are sealed off by Black's minor pieces and f-pawn. That means he will have to distract Black's King and pieces in some way. He has two resources to Liccomplish that - attacking e6 and advancing the C-pawn. Right now Black's King covers both c6 and e6 - and also threatens to trap a Bishop with 56 Ke7!.

(5) MARSHALL-RUBINSTEIN Vienna 1908

...

56 c6ch!

57 Bxe6 58 B e l 59 Kxel 60 Bxf5

Kxc6

Ne4 Bxel Nc3 h6

White has won a pawn temporarily but his b-piiwn is doomed. Chajes forces a draw now.

Not 63 e5, Nd3ch! and Black calls the tune.

Black carefully avoids committing his King and begins preparations for 0-0-0. Note how useful White's next move is. From f2 the Knight (a) protects a Bishop, (b) helps keep enemy Knights off e4, (C) prepares to push the e-pawn, and (d) watches g4, a key square in case Black castles short.

...

9 Nf2!

0-0-0

l

White Opening System

cln

55

An important move. Black had to play his 19th move to avert 20 Be5. However, the pawn move had a secondary purpose. He hoped to drive White back with a well-timed e6-e5. Now that chance is halted.

...

Because of the threat of 13 e5, forking two pieces. Black must liquidate the center in White's favor and losr time with his Bishop.

Black cannot win a pawn because of the attack d6-Bishop.

Chapter Three: Stonewall I1

the

i

I !

Black cannot contro1 the Queenside files any longer. Naturally, 25...axb6 26 axb6, Nxb6 will be punished (not by 2 7 Bxb6, since 2 7...Qxb6 is a check) but by solid attacking moves such as 27 Rfbl. ...

A fine continuing stroke to maintain the attack. Two pawns up. White could win in a variety of manners, but he prefers the tactical one (e.g. 2 9...Nxd4 30 Qe5ch, Ka8 21 uxb7ch, etc.).

...

This signals the beginning of a genera1 Queenside advance. The ultimate goal is the opening of a Queenside file for White's heavy pieces. The interim method of achieving that goal will be harassing Black's Queen with pieces and pawnb.

17... 18 b4 19 Bd4 20 Qf2 21 Rfel!

Ne7 Qc7 f6 Nc8

29 30 QeSch 31 axb7ch 32 Bf2 33 Qf6 34 Rebl 35 Rxb5 36 QBch!

axb6 Ka8 Kxb7 Rd5 Qc6 Rb5 Qxb5

forces an After this White wins a third pawn endgame. Black could safely have resigned without missing much, but he bets on his advanced King being worth compensation.

White Opening System

37 Qg8 38 Qxe8 39 Rbl 40 Rxb6ch 41 g3 42 RbSch 43 Kg2 44 Re5ch 45 4 46 f5 47 Bd4

CHAPTER FOUR The Basic Colle In this chapter we'll examine the basic choices confronting Black in the Colle, leaving the main lines for Chapter Five.

Avoiding the fina1 trap (48 Rxeo??, Nf4ch).

...

48 49 RxfS 50 Rf7 51 Rg7! 52 Bxg7 53 Kxg4! 54 Bxc3

exf5 Rg6 h5 Rxg7 hxg4

...

Again 4...e6 would block in Black's Queen Bishop and allow whj&,qgood choicf;. He could continue as in the line that follows with our basic Mode1 Development a la Col1 or he could convert the position into a Stonewall with Nf'3. A ruieof.iliumb: -if-___~lacEfZF~?.i;è6;thihk strongly about fl -2...the Stonewall Attack. --

d P ' I

W:.--

Nxd

Black Resigns. Even without 53 Nxc3 there was no way to stop the hpawn.

Chapter Four: The Basic Colle

There are some slight differences between 4...Nc6 and 4...Nbd7, but they should not trouble White much. With the Knight on d7, Black can contro1 the b7-e4 diagonal better with a subsequent fianchetto of his Queen Bishop. He is also better prepared to meet dxc5 since Nxc5! will attack White's Bishop on d3 and blunt any attack. That also means that when White inevitably breaks in the center with e3-e4, Black will be

...